""I was the one he trusted. I was the one he loved, the only one who believed him, even when his own mother had locked him up and thrown away the key. And now, I was going to pass down the white tiled hallway, knock on his doctor's office door, slam his secret notebook on her desk and make her read it, make her understand what he was hiding, make her see what only I had seen."

April won't let Jonah go without a fight. He's her boyfriend - her best friend. She'll do anything to keep him safe. But as Jonah slips into a dark depression, trying to escape the traumatic past that haunts him, April is torn. To protect Jonah, she risks losing everything: family, friends, an opportunity to attend a prestigious music school. How much must she sacrifice? And will her voice be loud enough to drown out the dissenters -and the ones in his head?"

"What is Aladdin had never found the lamp? This first book in the A Twisted tale line will explore a dark and daring version of Disney's Aladdin. When Jafar steals the Genie's Lamp, he uses his first two wishes to become sultan and the most powerful sorcerer in the world. Agrabah lives in fear, waiting for his third and final wish. To stop the power-mad ruler, Aladdin and the deposed princess Jasmine must unite the people of Agrabah in rebellion. But soon their fight for freedom threatens to tear the kingdom apart in a costly civil war. What happens next? A Street Rat becomes a leader. A princess becomes a revolutionary. And readers will never look at the story of Aladdin in the same way again."

25 August 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is my top ten books that would be on my syllabus if I taught Scottish authors 101 (from what I've read). Yes, I'm being patriotic this week and it's actually a really weird mix.

21 August 2015

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee’s View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it’ll allow us to show off more new blogs!

20 August 2015

I saw this tag a while back on Downright Dystopian so thought I’d give it a go! Feel free to take part too!

1. Do you have a certain place for reading at home?

Kind of… I tend to read in my bed a lot, but I read on the sofa or in the garden too.

2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?

I’ve got a few bookmarks but if I can’t find them I will use a bit of paper. My newest bookmarks...

3. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter or a certain number of pages?

I can just stop reading if need be. Years of taking buses to university led me to doing so. However, I do much prefer to stop after a chapter - but then sometimes I can't stop.

4. Do you eat or drink when reading?
Sometimes, usually just snacks/sweeties though. I don’t like trying to read whilst eating a meal – I don’t have enough hands - though I still do it.

5. Do you watch TV or listen to music whilst reading?
When I read in the living room, my parents tend to have the TV on too. So I can read with it on. It also depends what I’m reading as to whether I can listen to music or not. I mean when I was at university it had to be classical/movie scores or the lyrics would just distract me.

6. One book at a time or several at once?
Mostly one book at a time, but if it’s a particularly difficult/long book, I will read something a bit lighter at the same time.

7. Reading at home or everywhere?
Anywhere!

8. Reading out loud or silently in your head?
In my head! Do people actually read out loud to themselves?

9. Do you ever read ahead or skip passages?
Only if I can’t avoid it.

10. Breaking the spine or keeping it new?
This one is a hard one for me. I do like to keep my books new but then I also like the visual of books I have read on my shelf. So it really depends how I’m feeling on a particular day.

11. Do you write in your books?
Nope! Not even in my university books. If I need to mark something I will use a post-it.

12. What are you currently reading?
Lair of Dreams, Libba Bray - Not too sure about it at the moment.

18 August 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is the top ten auto-buy authors. I don't really have that many auto-buy authors, I tend to just pick up what looks good, so this list will probably be quite short.

"Three flying birds... one for each member of the family I left behind.

Sixteen-year-old Tris is forced to make a terrible choice. In a divided society where everyone must conform, Tris does not fit.

So she ventures out alone, determined to discover where she truly belongs. Shocked by her brutal new life, Tris can trust no one. And yet she is drawn to a boy who seems to both threaten and protect her.

14 August 2015

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee’s View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it’ll allow us to show off more new blogs!

13 August 2015

"First class is about to get dangerous... Pure Air's new LuxeLiner is flying from London to LA - its inaugural journey - with a first class cabin packed with A List celebrities. As the feuding crew compete to impress their famous passengers, the handsome pilot tries to win the attention of a pretty young stewardess.

But one VIP singer is battling something seriously sinister: watching her every step is a very determined stalker, someone who will go to any lengths to get the star to satisfy their desires. At thirty thousand feet there is nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide..."

07 August 2015

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee’s View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it’ll allow us to show off more new blogs!

July has been a very busy month. The very first weekend I had both my brother's birthday and I went to see Madness. It was amazing apart from the drunk old woman dressed like she was a teenager and constantly banging into everyone around her. I've also been quite ill recently and this put a pause on my blogging for a week or so. I'm still not feeling 100% but there's really no choice but to get on with things seeing as my doctor can't figure it out. I also spent 2 weeks alone in the office this month when my boss went on holiday. This was pretty boring as I only had a handful of calls and emails and nothing to do. I did manage to get a couple of posts set up though.

You may have noticed that I have redesigned my blog this month too. I'm not quite happy with it yet - I want to do something with the header but I'm not too sure what. Lastly, I finally set up a Twitter account for the blog. I'm still getting the hang of it but at least I'm getting there.

July has been an okay month for reading, I only read 6 books but with everything going on this month I'm happy with this number. This has taken my total to 35 books so far this year. My favourite book this month was Confessions of a Queen B*. It was amazing and relates to every girls inner bitch!

I promised Matt I'd do this - become a Junior Cadet. That I wouldn't let you break me down. I know you hate me. Blame me for everything you lost. But that day I lost my brother and my dad. You could never be proud of me, could you? I was too 'different'. So, just in case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm saying goodbye. Maybe someday, you'll miss me.

Reece.

Reece's words made her ache. Amanda understands wanting to belong. As a foster kid, the firehouse where she volunteers is the only place that feels like home. She wants to help Reece, but his dad is her boss. And she won't risk her place as a Junior Cadet - it's all she has. But then a string of arsons suddenly point to Amanda, her whole world is about to go up in flames. And the only way to save themselves is to risk getting burned."

04 August 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.
This week's topic is the top ten books fairy tale retellings I want to read. I love fairy tale retellings but have hardly read any. However, in the past week I've watched Cinderella and Mirror Mirror and I also started to watch Grimm with my brother and sister-in-law and we are half way through the first season already.

"Joey, the chocolate Labrador, is an incredibly well-socialised dog who also loves to run and run. Living in the neighbourhood of the Boston Marathon, he runs as many as twelve miles a day early in the morning, with his dad. But after they return home from a run, Joey still wants more, much more. Keenly observant, he allows no opportunity to explore the world pass him by. Will his insatiable sense of discovery lead him to gratification? Or to danger? Preparing his shenanigans well in advance, a decision Joey makes early one morning forever changes his life and the lives of his mom and dad, his running partner, and leaves them to deal with the consequences.

Dogs Don't Look Both Ways is a true story with a unique voice and a lot of adventure. Readers love it for it's colourful and heartfelt story-telling, but the canine narrator never lets go of the books' main messages about discovery and freedom, rules and boundaries, communication and caring for a dog, and, of course, our dependence on the kindness of others.